by Dani April
Rebecca tiredly raised her head up off the table. She found the three men fighting over her an exhausting experience. “Calm down, Ian.” She placed a hand on his arm. “Tex and Ramos are my friends. They offered to help me yesterday. They’re on my side in all this mess.”
Ian stood up from the table. He reached down and pulled Rebecca up to her feet in one sure motion. “Come with me, pretty lady. We’re going to take a walk out to where my Blazer is parked and have us a talk. We’ve only got a couple hours left before sunset.”
Rebecca followed him down the steps of the courtyard and out into the desert. The sun was already too low in the sky for comfort.
Chapter Fourteen
They made their way out into the desert. Tumbleweeds blew past Rebecca’s feet. Sand flew into her eyes with a gentle breeze. The sun was just starting to sink low into the west and cast a maze of shadows across the dunes. About half a mile ahead was the hole left by a gigantic bomb blast, and they seemed to be walking straight toward it.
“What’s your story, Ian?” Rebecca asked him after they had walked in silence for a few minutes. They had left the castle behind now and both felt freer to speak.
Ian just grunted and kicked some brush out of his way.
“You said you’ve worked for Peter for over ten years. You must have been awfully young when you first met him.”
“I don’t work for him.” Ian sounded offended. “Never have worked for him. We’ve become friends of a sort over the years. But we didn’t start out that way.”
“You were an enemy to a vampire?”
“Right.” He pulled his long hair back over his shoulders and looked down at her. “I first came here to kill him. I was a vampire hunter.”
“You knew he was a vampire then?”
“I wrote a fucking college paper on the bloke. I knew all about Peter von North by the time I tracked him down in the States.” He stopped and hiked his boot up to a rock and bent down to tie up the laces. He looked back over his shoulder at her. “Peter hasn’t been completely honest with you about a good many things, you know?”
“That’s strange.” Rebecca felt disappointment at this. More than even mere disappointment, she was crushed. She had thought she could trust the vampire. “I’m sorry to hear that. I thought I was a better judge of character than that. What exactly has he been dishonest about?”
“Did he tell you that bull crap about no one having died because of his vampirism?”
“He told me he had killed men in war before, but never as a vampire.”
“There’s been a string of deaths following him wherever he’s gone going back hundreds of years.” He finished tying his boots up, put a hand at the small of her back, and ushered her forward into the desert. “That’s how I first got onto him and how I eventually tracked him down.”
She felt sick to her stomach. “So Peter is a murderer then?” she asked without any life in her voice.
“No, he’s not. But it gets complicated. You’ll have to get him to tell you about it tonight when you see him.”
She caught herself breathing a sigh of relief. Somehow it had become important to her that Peter truly be the good vampire she believed him to be. She also realized Ian had referred to her seeing him that night. So she was to have one more night with her vampire after all. Now she would have a new interview question to ask him about when she saw him. Why had there been a string of deaths following him around the world? If he wasn’t a killer, then who or what was?
“When I realized Peter wasn’t a bad sort, I developed a friendship with him and decided I wouldn’t kill him. I fly over here to the States and visit him once or twice each year to check up on him and make sure he’s keeping himself out of trouble.”
Rebecca watched the sun drop lower in the sky as she continued to walk alongside the big Australian. The shadows across the sand became longer and crazier. Everything out there in the big wide open was settling down and becoming still, making ready for the approach of night.
“I teach at university in Melbourne,” Ian continued. “I’m a professor of medieval studies. I can’t tell you in my line of work how invaluable it is to talk to someone who actually lived through the Middle Ages.”
“Knowing Peter does have its advantages.” Rebecca laughed.
“I’m just over here on holiday for another couple weeks. Then I return home to start a new term at my university. Lucky thing for you Peter brought you out here while I was still a guest.”
Rebecca nodded, although she wasn’t really listening. There was one question burning inside of her that just had to be answered. “Does Peter really love me?” she blurted out.
“That he does.” There was no hesitation in Ian’s answer. Rebecca wondered why this made her feel better or why she even cared at all about Peter’s feelings toward her.
“Why does he love me?”
Ian stopped and looked down at her. She thought his gaze lingered a little too long as he took in her body. “He likes what he sees obviously,” he answered her. “And he’s a vampire. He read your thoughts. He must have liked those as well. At this point, he probably knows more about you than your mum and dad does.” Ian picked up a small stone from the desert floor and pitched it out into the sand. “What a curse to read the thoughts of others. If I had that talent, I’d end up hating everyone I knew.”
“Maybe he thinks I resemble his wife?” Peter’s wife was still a mystery, and in spite of her negative feelings toward him, she just had to know more about the other woman Peter had loved in his life.
“His wife?” Ian asked astounded. “The bastard never had a wife!”
“But I know he did. Ramos showed me her grave. I assumed he was married to her back when he lived as a normal man a thousand years ago before he was turned into a vampire.”
“Not true!” Ian exclaimed. “Ramos is a romantic young stud, but he doesn’t know Peter like I do. When Peter lived as a man, he was a young knight. He never had a chance to get married. He was turned into a night creature before he ever really had a chance to do much living as a man. To be sure, he’s made love to many women over the centuries, but I don’t think he’s ever loved any of them…Not until he met you, that is. That’s the reason you’ve become so important to him. He fancies you as his soul mate.”
Now it was Rebecca’s turn to halt in the sand and stare up at the giant Australian. It was getting late, and they would have to get back soon anyway.
“Then who is the woman buried in that grave back at the castle?”
Ian gave her a wicked smile, but no answer. “Well, now that would be another good question to ask our vampire friend tonight when you see him.”
“Do you torture your students back in Melbourne like this?” she asked him.
Ian shrugged and turned them around to head back to the castle. The huge structure loomed before them on the darkening horizon as they walked slowly back toward it. A burst of wind hit Rebecca, and she covered her arms and shivered.
“Come on, Ian. Give me something to go on here, would you?”
“There’s a story to be told all right, but I can’t tell it for the vampire. If he’s as honest with you as you think he is, he’ll tell it all to you tonight when you ask him. And if not then, at least you’ll know where you stand with him.”
Ian put his hand on the small of her back again, and she moved up against his large frame to cover her body from the wind. If the giant wasn’t going to give her any more information about Peter, at least he was good as a windshield.
“One more thing I should mention before we get back,” he said almost casually.
“What’s that?”
“Peter has asked me to join the two of you later tonight.”
She knew the look on her face must have been a mass of confusion and amazement. “You mean…” she started but couldn’t bring herself to finish.
“Exactly,” he confirmed her suspicions. “It’s his way. He likes to share his women with his friends. Of course if y
ou want, I can politely excuse myself from the evening’s activities.”
She just laid her head against his shoulder as they stepped across the sand. “No,” she told him. “I think I somehow want you to be there tonight. Maybe it’s because I don’t feel as safe around Peter as I thought I did.”
“Or maybe it’s just because you’ve never fucked an Aussie before.” He laughed and put his arm around her shoulder.
She couldn’t help but to smile up at him. “Could be,” she told him. “Guess I’ll find out tonight…”
* * * *
Rebecca put on the short nightgown she had worn on her first trip down into the vampire’s lair two nights before. She wore nothing underneath. The gown was made of an expensive silky fabric and felt good against her naked skin. The gown was sexy and would make the night easier. She didn’t think she would have it on that long anyway after Peter woke up.
She found her way through the maze of passages in the castle until she arrived at the door that would take her down through the long flights of stairs leading to Peter’s inner sanctum. The castle was dark and somewhat drafty as she made her way in the skimpy gown. She found a switch to a light that lit her way as she descended the stairs.
The thought of surprising Peter crossed her mind. Then she decided there would be no surprising the vampire. Anyway, from her calculations, the sun had already set a few minutes before and Peter was most likely up and roaming the grounds by now.
She checked the door to his room and found it was left unlocked. She was going to knock, but did not. Instead, she just opened the door and walked inside. The large room was partially dark, only dimly lit by a few corner lamps. As she walked across the carpeting on bare feet, she felt as stealthy as the vampire himself.
Peter was not at home. Her suspicions were confirmed. Peter had already left his lair for the night and the room was empty. She didn’t need to worry about Peter finding her. He would be back in a few minutes, and she settled in to wait for him. Her pussy became moist as she thought of the possibilities of the night before them.
Last night in the heat of their passion, she had not had any chance to fully examine the room. Now she took her time to walk around and find out as much as she could about Peter’s private space. The single huge space was like three or four rooms in one. A bedroom surrounding the huge bed where their mutual lust had been fulfilled the night before, and set to the side of it was an entertainment center where he had played the classic piano music CD. Next to the entertainment center was a living area with two couches, the big wingback chairs and some expensive glass coffee tables. Set off in the far corner of the room was what must have served as Peter’s office space. There were multiple computer monitors and printers in this area.
Rebecca stepped over to the office area and noticed a large desk that must have been where Peter conducted most of his work. It was a huge ornate wooden desk with carvings of lions and other beasts along the edges and a glass top to protect the finish. A computer monitor was on and flashing Forex numbers on a bar chart with real time data. So Peter did invest in something. The foreign currency markets were something she could have used in her news story on Peter. If she had seen this a few days ago, she would have been excited about the possibilities of where she could have taken her story. Now she was only mildly interested. Probably because the growing warmth between her legs was forcing all thoughts of work from her mind. Her thoughts were focused on what was surely to happen in a few minutes as soon as Peter arrived, and what would happen all night long thereafter. It was all she could do to not touch herself beneath the skimpy gown she wore. Her heart was already beating fast with anticipation.
There were medical textbooks strewn along Peter’s desk. A couple of them were open as if he had just been reading from them. Biology and chemistry had always been her weak subjects in school, but she did not have to hold a medical degree to interpret what these texts were all about. The titles on the jackets told her everything. Rare Blood Disorders in the Modern World. A History of Human Blood Disease. The Genealogy of Unhealthy Blood.
In the center of the desk and set off to the back by the PC monitor with the flashing Forex numbers was a single, framed photograph. From the look of the automobiles in the background she determined it must have been taken sometime in the mid-eighties. Peter was in the photograph looking just as he did today. Of course he had not aged one day in the nearly thirty years that had passed.
But what drew Rebecca’s attention to the photo was the other person standing in the photo with Peter. It was a woman. The woman was old. She must have been seventy-five or eighty years of age from her appearance. She looked to be frail and in poor health and was partially stooped.
Peter had his arm around her shoulder. He had a sober look on his face. The old lady looked as if she was happy and was looking up at Peter’s tall muscular frame with a coy smile on her lined face. Rebecca guessed from the foreign appearance of the background in the photo that it must have been taken in Europe. Of course since Peter was in the photo, it had been taken after dark. The two of them were outside on some sort of a terrace that overlooked a busy street. Other people were in the background, and it looked like some sort of party had been going on. Whatever it was, it had been a black-tie affair from the look of their clothes. The other partygoers looked to be older as well, perhaps not as aged as the woman on Peter’s arm, but certainly older than Peter. Or rather, Rebecca thought correcting herself, older than Peter appeared to be.
For a few moments, Rebecca’s mind turned from the hot sex she was about to have. She puzzled over the meaning of this photograph on top of Peter’s desk occupying such a prominent spot. Could the woman in the photograph have been his mother? No, that wasn’t possible since his mother had been dead for over a thousand years. Could she have been another vampire? Again that was not possible because a vampire wouldn’t have shown their age as the woman in the photo did.
A warm hand gripped her bare shoulder over the strap of her night gown, and she felt long fingers caressing her skin. She turned around, and Peter was towering above her, looking down into her eyes with what she hoped was a caring face. He nodded past her toward the desk, but didn’t seem to have any anger.
“Peter?” She was startled at his abrupt entrance. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to be going through your things.”
“You must have a lot of questions for me tonight?”
“Yes. I talked with Ian today. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions, but he gave me some new ones to ask you tonight.”
Peter sighed. “Answering your questions is the least I can do, considering I am asking you to give up your life for all of this. The answers to your questions will help you to understand why I am asking you to give up your life and become one of my kind.”
This wasn’t what Rebecca wanted to hear. She took a deep swallow. Hearing Peter speak about her giving up her life made this all seem more real and more scary. It was too bad because Peter could be so sexy when he wasn’t scaring the hell out of her. She quickly realized she wasn’t as ready for this night as she thought she had been.
“I like what you’re wearing,” he told her and smiled down at her body, taking in the curves of her breasts and press of her nipples beneath the thin fabric.
She returned his smile. “I thought it was appropriate considering what we’ll probably end up doing together later.”
He bent down to her and kissed her on the lips. She opened her mouth to him, and his tongue entered her mouth. Her knees almost melted out from under her at his touch. It felt so warm to be in his arms.
He took her hands in his and led her forward from the room.
“Come with me, Rebecca,” he whispered in her ear in that sensuous tone he had. “I want to take you out into the night so you can see it the way I do…”
* * * *
Outside the night was calm and windless in the desert. Rebecca felt that she should have been cold since she was wearing next to nothing. In Peter’s embrace
she found only warmth and comfort. He was so strong she couldn’t help but to feel protected.
“Are you still afraid, Rebecca?” He looked down at her with what seemed like real concern in his eyes.
“Not now.” She shook her head.
“Good.” He hugged her to his chest.
Overhead, a million stars decorated the black sky and a full moon illuminated the rolling sand dunes all the way out to the bomb craters in the distance. Somewhere out behind the buttes, a lone coyote called to its mates in the night.
“Are you ready, darling?” he asked.
She wasn’t for sure what she should be ready for, but nodded up at him anyway that she was.
“I want you to hold onto me, and don’t let go, and don’t become frightened. No harm will come to you. You are with me, and you have my promise. Remember I have you.”
She took a swallow, not certain what to expect and reached up to put her arms around his neck. He was so handsome in the bright moonlight she wanted to place her lips against his again. Her legs were weak, and her stomach did flip-flops. The bare souls of her feet turned up sand as she stepped into his embrace and she brought a knee up across his leg.
In the next instant they were in the air. Her feet had left the ground. They were flying through the night. She held her body securely next to his and felt no fear, only exhilaration. This was true freedom.
It was over before she had a chance to think about it or to revel in the glorious feeling. Suddenly they were back down to earth, and her bare feet had settled on top of a rocky outcrop. No more than two seconds had gone by since she took Peter into her arms and they lifted off into the night, and now here they were.
They were up high, and for a moment, she thought they were walking across the sky like gods. But there was land beneath her, and she was able to step out of his grasp without fear of falling. Out before them was spread the entire desert all the way to the mountain range in the far west. She could see it all from this vantage point. The desert floor must have been several hundred feet beneath them. The entire scene was lit by the intense moonlight from overhead which added indescribable beauty.
